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The city of Portland is warning residents that a shortage of plow drivers could cause delays in snow removal this winter.
Spokesperson Jessica Grondin said the city normally has 60 employees available to assist with winter operations. But this year, it’s currently dealing with 17 unfilled driver positions within its public works department, plus an additional 10 absences of employees either on leave, or who don’t yet have the proper license to operate winter equipment.
Grondin said the city has typically brought in private contractors to fill in. But those companies are also experiencing shortages.
“So the priority every year, during any major snow event is to keep those major arterials open and passable first,” Grondin said. “And then once those are clear, then we head into the side streets. And so we do expect it will take us longer to hit all of those side streets this year.”
Grondin said the city has recently boosted driver pay, and has also brought on a new instructor to specifically train employees without their commercial driver’s license. Twelve employees have been brought on who don’t currently have their CDL, but Grondin said training them will likely take a while.
“It takes, like, six to 12 months. And that’s just to get the CDL license. Then on top of that, we need to have people who are trained, just specifically for winter snow removal. and learning to use the plow equipment,” Grondin said.
The city is asking residents to comply with any parking bans this winter.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.